The Puppy, part 2?
by Anesthetic Souls
Summary: After Alex found a puppy and subsequently embarrassed herself in front of Robert Cross, she wonders what exactly to do with it. The consciousnesses of those she has consumed and the morality that she has gained keep her from simply leaving the thing to die. Fem!Alex, Male!Dana. Awkward family times. Part of my mini What if Scenario.


To say that Alexis Mercer was unsure of what to do at the moment would be an understatement. The cacophony of voices in her head have begun to overlap one another to form such a confusing bundle of mush that only tiny fragments of information were actually reaching the individual in question. Two dark brows furrow heavily as ethereal silver-blue eyes stare almost blankly down at the tiny wriggling bundle of fluff in her hands. Its lolling pink tongue tries to lick at whatever part of her is closest to the 'puppy', as it was so called, and its cloudy blue eyes gaze happily about before staring in her general direction.

Alex shifts the wriggly thing into one hand and carefully juggles its meager weight between the two appendages, her mind whirring under the silent sound of thousands of thoughts buzzing about that were not her own. She shakes her hooded head a few times and puffs her cheeks in an oddly human gesture, seeming rather out of place on the Virus and very out of place on her usually scowling countenance. Finally, one thought trickles from the back of her mind and it flourishes into a river of ideas. Dana. Dana would definitely know what to do about this tiny creature.

With an ever so slight nod to herself, she shifts the wriggly ball of fluff and, after physically and mentally shivering slightly, places the thing within the security of her jacket, the bio-mass fabric shuddering at the feel of a living creature so close to it. Taking a breath and quelling her inner desire to consume, she adjusts her grip and puts her arm under the pup before dashing from the rooftop in a small cloud of dust and a burst of reddish energy. She launches across the gap of a street, not bothering with the name, and continues along the line of Central Park.

****tentativelinebreakyes****

Dana stares at the dual screens of his computer, the bright light setting a heavy glare against his pale skin. He hastily brushes his reddish hued dark chocolate hair out of his eyes, the locks having grown quite a bit in the six months of his coma and the two months of physical therapy and overall recovery. The 24 year old smiles a bit to himself as he thinks of how his sister reacted to him being awake:

Eyes abnormally wide, mouth slightly agape, and her whole body seemed to vibrate with barely contained excitement. The flowers at his bedside were proof of her continued visits and almost constant worry. Many vases lined the windowsill, though they were mostly empty, save one that had mostly wilted flowers in it. His sister's eyes, so violent yet beautiful, blink twice and then an ever so slight smile dawned upon her face. She walked over and, after shifting awkwardly for a few seconds, handed him a vase of white Asiatic lilies and golden yellow roses, decorated with tiny blue blooms.

Now, Dana wasn't really one for flowers but, those were special enough for him to learn how to dry and press them. He shakes himself out of this revere and huffs softly, his gaze returning to the screens, though there was nothing very interesting at the moment. He rereads a bit of news about the sudden real estate boom in Manhattan, a frown twisting his lips as he thinks about everything that happened those eight months ago.

And then a heavy thump from above brings him out of his thoughts, a soft smile immediately replacing his prior frown. And, as per Alex Mercer style, his older sister is suddenly taking up the opening of the window closest to him, a disgruntled look upon the hooded woman's visage. She slides down with ease and, after a moment of hesitation, lowers her hood, revealing her short dark brown hair, a dull red sheen showing in the artificial lighting of the apartment. Cool silver-blue eyes look over at him and seem to brighten upon seeing him, though they look away in an instant as somethin within her jacket wriggles.

Now, Dana isn't exactly afraid of his elder sister, but after dealing with all the trouble that she attracts, he is prone to being paranoid at times. That is what he tells himself whenever he jumps or gasps at something or when he does something peculiar like that. This is no exception, for he jumped and gave the most unmanly yelp before slapping a hand over his mouth, a blush dancing across his cheekbones and the bridge of his nose as his sister gives a soft snort of suppressed laughter. And then she seems to come to her senses and carefully reaches into her jacket to pull out something small, wriggly, and white.

"Dana, I found this... puppy. And I thought that you might like it." Alexis says in her low tenor voice, a rough underlying rumble barely audible beneath her voice. Dana blinks and stands, pushing his chair back to walk over to where his sister stands, awkward and stiff. As soon as she gets close enough, Alex carefully raises the wriggly thing up and Dana blinks once, twice, thrice, at what he sees. A puppy, tiny, white and dirty; with a scattering of cool grey splotches and tiny black spots speckling its back and legs.

Carefully, so as not to possibly startle the tiny bundle, Dana reaches out and takes the little burden from his sister, who shifts and lowers her arms have them hang limply at her sides. Dana smiles gently and lifts the pup up, watching as its eyes look at him and then try to return to Alex, a barely there whine and a tiny wag to the fluffy tail.

"Aaw, Alex, he's adorable. But, I think he's taken an interest in you more than me. It looks like you've found a friend."

"... What am I supposed to do with it?" She asks, internally wincing as the many voices in her head seem to grow louder and even harder to think through.

"Well, you take care of him. You feed him, give him water, etcetera. But, don't worry, I can do that. It'd be nice to have something to do besides physical therapy and shitty news."

Alexis shifts again and seems to be about to say something when Dana, being careful of the pup who had snuggled into her arm, wraps her in a hug. The Virus actually flinches at the intimate touch and forces herself to calm down before she accidentally did something that she would forever regret. She sighs and looks down at the slight man before her, his head just barely reaching her chin. After a moment, Alex pulls away and turns to the window, moving at an easy pace. She idles just in reach of Dana and gently pets the pup before she walks over to the window and steps out onto the ridge. Dana's voice calls to her as she leaves, making her smile.

"Thanks Alex. For, you know, everything."

"... Of course." She mumbles in reply before jumping out and hitting the ground running. Dana watches her disappear and pets the pup before going to find a suitable bed for the little thing, a smile etched onto her face.


End file.
